Kathy1212

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I usually use Youtube for everything video related, including watching virtual bike rides while riding my exercise bike. I kept seeing an ad for Vimeo streaming services, for HD videos for walking/bike riding/treadmill.  I decided to subscribe for one month, to see if I like it. The videos are crystal clear with nice natural sounds and no awful pounding music.  I like it. 

This is where I virutally rode today, for 22 minutes:

I thought it was great because this is what I have to look at outside here:

Mountains of snow vs Italian mountains = no contest, lol.

I want to do a more tropical one next!  Can't wait.

If I have any energy later I may try out my new resistance bands. I bought them on sale at Winners the other day and have been saving various workouts on Youtube, to try. 

I'm on Day 9 of Optifast and for the first time since starting, DO NOT feel hungry.  It's a miracle, lol.

Yesterday I was saying (whining) that I was worried about how I'd cope on Optifast without hot herbal teas to keep me warm.  It's winter and I only like the shakes icy cold, which leaves me feeling so cold after. 

Someone suggested that if I was allowed lemon juice (I am) that I could put some in hot water, add some sugar free sweetener, and drink that in lieu of tea.

I wish I could remember the person's name. It was a great idea! 

I wasn't sure I'd like it as I haven't had a hot lemon drink since I was a kid and my Mom made me drink NeoCitran when i was sick. I hated that stuff.  But I figured I'd give it a go as it's been over 30 years since I tried anything hot and lemony and surely my tastes must have changed.  Sure enough, I really like it!

Also, I was googling the health benefits of hot lemon water and there are many!  It has vitamin C, aids digestion, boosts the immune system, fights hunger, and a myriad of other benefits.

I'm sipping a cup now, and even like the smell.  Lemon mixed with hot water and truvia sweetener smells like lemony cotton candy, and tastes almost as good (although not as sweet as I only used the very tip of the teaspoon of sweetener).

On another note, my entire family has the flu and I'm praying I won't catch it, or if I do catch it that I get it now and get over it before surgery. I also hope they'll feel better soon. 

Only 14 more days!

I'm down 6 Ibs! Or possibly 7.  I stepped on my scale this morning and it landed on 296.6 three times, and 298 three times.  The last time it went to 298 and then rolled back to 296.6, so that's probably what I weigh, but I chose the higher weight to avoid disappointment in case the lower weight is wrong. So, 304 -298 is 6 Ibs.  Not bad for 1 week on Optifast.  Not as good as I've lost in my first week of dieting before; I think the most was 12 Ibs in one week on Atkins, but it could be that the high sodium content in the Optifast is causing water retention.  Anyway, 6 Ibs is nothing to sneeze at, so I'm happy with it.  I was told most people lose between 10-15 Ibs on their Opti pre-op, and I have 2 more weeks to go.  I haven't cheated at all; not one bite, so I'm proud of that.

My family loves eating and they cook a lot.  Vick's Vapor Rub has helped me sooo much because the aroma of their cooking drives me crazy.  This morning my Mom made hot buttered toast, such a simple thing, but it's one of the things I miss most.  Just the sound of the butter knife scraping across the toast was a trigger.  Then the smell.  OMG.  So, I put a dab of Vick's Vapor Rub in my nose and now I can't smell the toast. 

I'm not hungry.  I just had my shake.  I feel a bit hollow but am not hungry.  It's all in my head.  It's just me wanting the taste of toast.  I don't need it. Plus, even if I were to eat it, it would be gone in a few minutes.  So I'm pretending I ate it and finished it and it is gone.  Just to try to fight the feelings of deprivation.

It's weird because before I cracked down on myself to get ready for surgery, I didn't ever eat breakfast, or even lunch most days.  Everyone else did but I'd just drink coffee and not get hungry until 2 or 3 PM, at which point I'd be ravenous and willing to eat just about anything. 

It sure will be nice when I have a tiny pouch to deal with rather than a huge tummy that expects lots of food and is wondering what the heck happened, lol.

So hard to believe I'll be flying back to Toronto 2 weeks from today, at this very time.  And 2 weeks from tomorrow at this time, I'll be part way through surgery, blissfullly unaware of what is happening.  So close now!

2 more weeks of Optifast.  I can do this.

I'm on day 5 of optifast now and I'm so glad that I'm liking the taste.  I've tried a mixing instant coffee in the vanilla and didn't like it.  I also tried adding crystal lite to the vanilla and didn't like it because it made it too sweet for my taste.  So far, I like it best just the way it is.

I've been getting cravings, but they're triggered by seeing real food or food ads, or smelling the aromas of foods that my famiy is eating.  I've fought them off so far and was getting pretty cocky about it until today, when my brain tempted me soooo much, lol.  Thankfully, I stayed on plan and didn't blow it. I think blowing it is my biggest fear. I want to be 100% on plan and not cheat at all. So far, so good, thank goodness.

Today I saw an ad for Little Caesar's Crazy Bread Bites, and I was instantly fixated on wanting those darn things.  I told myself NO and I ate my allocated green veggies (green pepper and celery) instead.  I even heated them up in the frying pan (no oil or anything, jus the chopped veggies).  I added a sprinkling of garlic powder, a small dash of salt, and some black pepper, and just cooked them on low heat until they were warm and a bit soft, yet still a bit crunchy.  They were delicious.  I ate them very slowly, and drank a bottle of water while I ate.  I'm full now. It feels great to have a warm meal in my belly. I've had soup broth every day, and i love it and am so grateful I can have it, but it's not the same as eating something warm.  It's tough to do Opti in winter, with so much snow and ice everywhere.  It's crazy because it's warm inside, it's just psychological that I dont' want to eat or drink cold things in winter.

I went down to the cold storage room and found all of the boxes of herbal teas that i thought my family had tossed out as they are not tea drinkers.  I had an apple spice tea this afternoon and it was nice.  It smelled heavenly but unfortunately only hinted at the tase of apple.  It tasted more like sour hot water, but it was OK.  Next time I may add a sprinkling of cinnamon to it, to add more flavor.  Or maybe I just didn't steep it enough.  I'm not sure as I'm not really a tea drinker.

If it weren't for cravings, this Optifast would be a breeze.  Regardless, I'll do this, no matter what.

17 days until surgery! 

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday I hated my first Optifast shake with a passion.  My second was a bit better, but not much.  My 3rd and fourth shakes of Day 1 were OK.

This morning at the start of Day 2 I was pleasantly suprised by the Opti.  It wasn't good, but also not bad.  Then I flew home to the Sault, with one suitcase entirely filled with Optifast, lol.

I made my third shake and it was too watery because I tried adding double the water.  I could barely taste it and found myself missing it.

My fourth shake of the day, at 8PM, was delicious. I used 1 cup of bottled water, vanilla Opti, and 2 icecubes in a shaker cup.  I couldn't believe how good it was.  I don't know if i was just hungry or if the bottled water is what made the difference, but wow, it was yummy!

I'm so glad.  I will have an easier time doing this for 3 weeks if it continues to taste good.  Hopefully I won't wake up tomorrow and hate it again, lol.

I had my first (terrible horrible luke-warm vanilla) Optifast shake this morning and within minutes had to RUN to the washroom.  Is there ex-lax in this stuff, lol? 

I assumed the "fast" in the name meant fasting from eating, but now am convinced it means I need to be fast to get to the washroom in time. 

I went to the mall with my friend this afternoon and was terrified I might need to run to the ladies room, but I was OK.

Now I"m back and having a chocolate shake, and it is much better than the vanilla.  Not anywhere near good or tasty, but OK enough that I know I can do this without too many problems.  Ice helps, a lot. I will never drink this stuff at room temp again, lol.

I bought a new shaker bottle while I was out and that also helps because it cuts back on the awful smell.  It's hot pink, and hot pink makes everything cheerier, lol, so hopefully that will help too.

I picked up a can of low sodium chicken broth, which I'll have later, along with 1 cup of celery and 1 cup of cucumber, when my friends and family have supper (sausages on buns and fries!).  I also bought some Crystal Light, blueberry/strawberry, to squirt into my vanilla shake to hopefully make it taste better. 

I'm supposed to have 4 shakes a day and it's after 5 PM and I'm on my second shake. I was too afraid to have one before going to the mall. If I were home I would have just stayed home all day while I get used to the Opti, but I'm staying with friends and don't return home until tomorrow.  I don't think I can drink two more today, but I'll get one more in before bed for sure.

I'll be glad to get home tomorrow, so I can go buy some Torani syrups at Winners or LorAnn Flavours at the Bulk Barn. I'm also looking forward to mixing the shakes with ice in my nutribullet.

I can do this.  I will do this.  I am doing this.

Day 1 of Optifast, first lesson learned:  ALWAYS make ice the night before.

Vanilla opti, even with a tsp of coffee granules is disgustingly gross when it's not cold enough.  Bleah

Ice will be ready in time for next Opti, lol.

So I had my pre-op "meet the team" appointment at St. Joe's in Toronto today.  I met the surgeon first, and was impressed by how kind and knowledgeable he seemed, and also couldn't help but notice how very easy on the eyes he was, lol.  I wondered if it was just me, but later when I met with another member of the team, she asked if I had met Dr. Lindsay yet. I said "Yes".  She asked what I thought of him and I told her I thought he seemed very nice.  She said, "And handome?" I laughed and agreed and said, "You have your very own Dr. MacDreamy here." She said everyone says that, lol.

My appointments went well and everything looks good. I was given sooooo much Optifast that I had to take the packets out of the boxes in order to fit them into the two big bags that I had brought with me. 

Tomorrow is Optifast, day 1.  I was very relieved to find that I'll also be allowed up to 2 cups of lettuce, celery, cucumber, or green pepper, plus I can have calorie free drinks or broths.  My friend wants to go to Square One tomorrow, so I'll get to test my willpower by ignoring all fo the lovely smells from the various restarants and the food court. 

Woohoo; I'm heading to Toronto in an hour!  It's -27 C so my Dad is driving me; I'll get to go in a nice warm truck! 

Looking forward to a fun evenig with my friends and family in Toronto!

Pre-op meeting is on Tuesday, and 3 weeks of Optifast starts on Wednesday.  This is happening!

At first I wasn't going to taste the new protein samples I bought from Canadian Protein, and then I thought, may as well try.

Banana Cream: I tried this flavor last night.  I was surprised by how nicely it mixes up in the shaker bottle, with no clumps at all.  Much nicer than the big container of protein powder I"ve had in my cupboard for the past few months.

The first sip was not enjoyable, but then the second sip was OK and I must have liked it alright because i drank it down quickly.  It was good, but too sweet.  Why must they make these things so sweet tasting.  I mean, some sweetness is OK but this is over the top sweet.  Great stats though; 27 grams of protein per serving, only 45 grams of sodium, and only 1 carb each of fat, sugar, and carbs.  Can't beat that.  With 2 cups of 2 % milk (we were out of skim and I'm pre-op, and it tasted grosse with only 1 cup) it came to 45 grams of protein.  I had NO idea 2% milk was so high in sugar and carbs though. Next time I must remember to use 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of water.

Cappucino: I tried it this afternoon and I like it better than the banana cream, but it is still too sweet.  Not as sweet as the banana cream, but sweeter than I like.  I think tomorrow I'll try the unflavored protein.  Maybe that will be the best bet; just add coffee and my own sweetener, if needed, for cappucino, cocoa for chocolate, etc.  I can't imagine using those sugar free syrups if they are also sweet.  On the plus side, like the banana cream, it was super simple to mix, with no clumps.  It doens't have a chalky taste like some protein powders do.

That's it; I'll only try one flavor per day until I leave for Toronto on Sunday, and then I'll be on Optifast for 3 weeks, starting on Wednesday.

So  excited!